Jersey City's top attorney to lead utilities authority

JERSEY CITY -- Jeremy Farrell, Jersey City's corporation counsel, was hired last night as the new head of the city Municipal Utilities Authority, an autonomous agency Farrell has been leading part-time since February.

Farrell will earn $195,000 as the agency's new executive director, a 12 percent boost from the base salary of his predecessor, Dan Becht. The contract, approved last night by the MUA's board of commissioners, runs for five years, ending in 2023.

City spokeswoman Hannah Peterson said Farrell will step down as the city's top attorney, for which he makes $130,031 annually. He has been performing both roles for the last year, earning a combined $216,862.

The MUA manages the city's water and sewer systems.

Administration critics howled when Farrell took over for Becht last year, citing Mayor Steve Fulop's one-time crusade against "double dippers," officials who hold two public jobs. Fulop's spokeswoman last year said the city did not want to hire a full-time director to replace Becht until after November's mayoral race.

Farrell could not immediately be reached to comment. He will take over the reins at the MUA as the agency finalizes a new, multi-year contract with Suez, the company that runs the city's water system for the MUA.

It does not appear Farrell has a background in running a utilities authority.

"I don't think any of the directors they've had over the years really had a background in it," Maureen Hulings, chair of the MUA commissioners, told The Jersey Journal. "But I've been very impressed with him."

Hulings said Farrell will remain the part-time MUA chief until he wraps up his duties with the city.

Peterson said city attorneys Jeremy Watson and Bhavni Doshi will be the "point legal team" for the city while it interviews people to succeed Farrell.

Fulop has said he wants to dissolve the city's autonomous agencies. He has already eliminated the Jersey City Parking Authority and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority.